Longing for Madness
by Feather Headed Feline
Summary: It seems the White Queen has fallen ill, and the Oraculum calls once again for the Champion. But what would happen if the Champion died? Who would take Alice's place? Alice's new friend Violet must travel to Underland to fulfill the quest in her place.


_~Longing for Madness~ _

_**Chapter 1- Late**  
_

Violet POV

Alice Kingsleigh was my best friend.

We had met on The Wonder, the ship my father was captain of. I found it peculiar that a girl of Alice's age would be traveling to China on a busness trip,

but she also... intrigued me. Being the only other girl my age I've ever met, we became fast friends. Growing up on a ship that traveled the world, I had

come in contact with many odd things, but as me and Alice grew closer and closer, she began to tell me stories even I couldn't believe.

_"You mean the rabbit could talk?" I asked, laughing._

_Yes, and so could the March Hare, and the Dormouse..."_

_"Oh Alice, you are a wonderful storyteller!"_

_The blond frowned, and turned her small frame away from me. I reached out to touch her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. I crawled across the bed to _

_get a better look at her face. Her eyes had a faraway look to them, and appeared oddly... greenish. My brown ones met her own. She sighed._

_"Violet, I knew you wouldn't believe me. It's quite alright, though." She looked up to the ceiling. "If someone had tried to tell me the story, I would have _

_called them mad too. And that's quite a remark, seeing as it would come from the girl who doesn't wear corsets or knickers." Letting out a sad chuckle, _

_she turned to face me again._

_"But I can prove it."_

_I cocked my head. "How?"_

_"You know that blue butterfly that has stowed away on the ship? The one I talk to sometimes?"_

_I nodded. I had always felt rather strange and intrusive whenever I saw Alice chatting intimately twith the insect perched on her finger, as if it was part of _

_some world I should never have found out about._

_"He's from there. From Underland. He's... he's magic."_

_I shook my head in disbelief. I had always known Alice was eccentric; so was I. But this... this was an entirely new level. I wanted to believe her, but..._

_"I just can't, Alice, I'm sorry. Just because the butterfly is a bit odd looking doesn't mean he's from an alternate universe. It doesn't prove-"_

_"That Alice is telling the truth?" A strange, low voice echoed quietly within the cabin. "She is your friend, Violet, isn't that enough?"_

_A strange creature flitted from the ceiling, and soared onto the bed. It was the butterfly!_

_"Absolem, don't frighten her!" Alice whispered loudly. The butterfly looked directly at me. It's face was eerily human._

_"Well?"_

_I screamed. It had talked! I had never thought that the butterfly actually talked BACK to Alice! I scrambled off the bad to the opposite wall. A cat's face _

_appeared right next to me, grinning madly. I looked directly at Alice, and promptly fainted._

_When I came to, Alice was sitting on the bed, stroking the purple cat, looking as confused as I felt. The cat disappeared instantly in a puff of smoke. The _

_butterfly, it seemed, was also gone. Alice turned and gave me an odd smile._

_"I'm going back," she breathed. "Back to that wonderful Underland."_

_This time, I let her finish her stories. She told me of the Red and White Queens, of the Jabberwocky, and Frabjous Day. She also told me of her friends, _

_like the Tweedles, Beyard the Hound, and a Mad Hatter. The Hatter came up surprisingly often, as Alice didn't enjoy talking about men too much._

_"Alice... did you love him?" I asked carefully._

_She bit her lip._

_"I don't know, Violet, I truly don't. But he loved me, I believe. And I feel terrible about that."_

_We sat in silence for a few minutes._

_"But I do get to see him again. Apparently, there's something terrible happening in Wonderland. The White Queen is sick. And I must go to find the flower_

_ that cures her." She rested her chin onto her palm._

_"You know, sometimes I wished I hadn't been named Alice!"_

_We laughed. Then, Alice took my hands in her own, eyes open wide._

_"Violet, I just had the most wonderful idea! Would you like to come with me to Wonderland?"_

_"Of course!" I squealed. "I would like to meet this Hatter, and all of your friends! But we don't dock in London for another month..."_

_"Trust me Violet. That's barely enough time to prepare for what you are going to see."_

Tarrant POV

Mirana tells me Alice shall return to us soon.

I am overjoyed.

After Alice left, people began to call me "The Sad Hatter". Even my dearest friend Chessur.

It was not hard to see why.

With my sweet, dear Alice gone, I simply could not live. I have not made a hat since she left. Even under the peaceful rule of her Majesty the White

Queen, I found it impossible to be happy. To be the way I was before. To be mad.

But now, now she will come back to us, when a month in the Otherland passes, my darling will return to us.

And I shall tell her of my true feelings.

Oh, I could Futtherwhacken at this very moment! It is time for tea, tea time! A perfect time for a party!

But first, a hat.

The right hat for the right Alice.

Oh, she was so perfectly the right Alice, so I must make the best hat I can possibly make. But what shall it look like? A raven, or a writing desk? The

letter M? I try to picture Alice, her lovely blonde curls cascading down the shape of her wonderful back, her beautiful eyes the color of the ocean, her pale

skin and goddess-like beauty. What sort of hat could be made to match this work of art?

Well, I had a starting point.

Her ocean eyes.

The color blue.

Violet's POV

No. Oh no.

This cannot be happening.

Alice... dead?

I knew it was a bad idea to sleep out on the deck in the middle of winter. I told her. I told her we'd catch pneumonia, and die. We did.

She did.

I put my head in my hands and cried. We were a day away from London. We were going to go down the rabbit hole together and-

"NO! PLEASE, GOD NO!"

This can't be happening.

I hated myself. Why did I survive the illness, while she could not? Alice was the strong one. The brave one. The one who saved Underland. I was

absolutely nothing special. I wasn't beautiful or courageous. I could make a few people laugh, maybe. I had never done anything amazing in my life.

I sobbed on the bed. My best and only friend! Gone, taken away! It simply wasn't fair!

As I weeped, I felt something caress my back. A hand? No, a paw...

It was the Cheshire Cat.

"My poor dear. I am... terribly sorry." He hiccupped. I could see tears in his eyes, those eyes that normally seemed frightening, but now were afraid and

sad themselves.

"My, my this does complicate things," he choked out.

I had been trying to forget that aspect. Alice needed to save Underland again. And now she couldn't.

Because she was gone.

I closed my eyes to remember my last moments with her.

_"Violet dear, don't be sad. I'll certainly see you again, in some way, in your dreams..." she coughed again. Her breath became weaker._

_"No Alice, no, no..." I murmured, tears flying down my cheeks. "You can't..."_

_"Ah, but I can. Everyone can... including the White Queen. Violet, I have a huge favor to ask of you. Will you..." Her eyes began to close._

_"What, Alice, what?" I knew what she was going to ask, even though we both knew the answer. I grabbed her pale, clammy hands._

_"You must fulfill the quest. You must save Underland."_

_"Oh Alice..." I took a deep breath._

_"I'll try. I"ll try for you, Alice."_

_She smiled._

_"Thank you, my sweet friend. Another favor..."_

_She motioned towards the desk. An envelope with _Tarrant Hightopp_ written on it in careful letters._

_"Deliver it to my lovely friend, will you?"_

_"Anything Alice, anything for you."_

_Her eyes closed. A small smile._

_"Father...?"_

_Gone._

After about an hour, I began to calm down. The Cheshire Cat rubbed against me and purred. I scratched him sadly behind the ears.

"Well, you are coming, aren't you? To the funeral, I mean," he asked.

I nodded.

"Well, it'll be on the Ascot estate, the Kingsleigh's is too small. A lot of people loved Alice in this world, in their own way. And you know what's on the

Ascot estate, yes?"

"The... the rabbit hole?"

The cat's body disappeared, leaving only his head, which nodded.

"Are you going to Underland?"

I sighed. "I have to. I... I promised..."

The tears were coming again. Even if I couldn't fulfill the- oh, what was it called- the Oraculum, I had to try. For Alice.

For Alice.

At the funeral

Oh, it was devastatingly sad. And boring. It infuriated me that Alice's life would be commemorated in this horribly dreary manner. Alice was full of life, full

of love. She wouldn't have wanted everyone to dress in black. She'd want a party, with all colors of the rainbow. Or blue, maybe. Blue was her favorite

color. She'd always get such a dreamy look when she saw the ocean. Oh, I remember...

The tears were coming now. I took my handkerchief and brought it to my eyes, dabbing at the drops. As the priest droned on, I thought not about what

he was saying (Alice's soul, how she was such a 'good Christian woman', the like) but about the real Alice. The Alice I knew. I thought about her laugh,

and her stories, and her sense of humor. I wished I could tell all of the people here about my view of Alice. But it seemed these people could only see in

black and white...

I got up from my seat and walked towards the woods. I couldn't take the endless drivel anymore. And besides, it was time to go.

I was late.

For a very important date.

* * *

Well, there's the first chapter. I know there's no paragraph indentations, but it didn't seem to work when I saved it... anyone out there that can help with that? Review, flame if necessary, ConCrit appreciated. This might end up being a TarrantxViolet fic, so just be aware. Rated T for violence, dark themes, etc. in the future. This is the first thing I've uploaded to FF, so I'm not sure if I'm a good writer or not. Feel free to tell me. ^^

Thanks for reading,

~Feather


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